Throttle and gear control for outboard motor



g- 9, 19 B. R. STONE THROTTLE AND GEAR CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed Jan. 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FOIZWAED -J1EE INVENTOR. 517! E. 520276; BY I fl wam O THROTTLE AND GEAR CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR Billy R, Stone, 1443 W. Malone, San Antonio, Tex.

Filed Jan. 10, 1958, SenNo. 708,229

3 Claims. (Cl. 74-472) i invention relates to control devices, and more jparticularly to a combination'transmission and throttlelcontrolling device for an internal combustion engine, for

"fexample, for the engine of an outboard marine motor.

[ A main object of the invention is to provide a novel "and improved combination transmission and throttle controlling device for an internal combustion engine especialf ly suitable for use in conjunction with outboard marine motors, said device being simple inconstruction, being '{easyto operate, andbeing very'compact in size.

A; further object of the invention is to provide an im- )Figure 1 iswan elevational view of the instrument and Tcontrol housing'of a boat provided with outboard motors "controlled by improved combination throttle and gear control devices according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-sectional 'lview taken substantially on the line 2 -2 of Figure l.

1 .Figure 3 is. an, enlarged elevational View taken sub- "'stantially on the line 33 of Figure 1. v

Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line. 44- of Figure 3..

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figurefi is a vertical cross-sectional detail view taken "on the line 66 of Figure .4.

Figureg'l is a cross-sectional view, similar to Figure4, but to a reduced scale, showing the handle member ro- Ejtated ninety degrees fromitsposition of Figure 4 on its longitudinal axis of rotation.

Figure 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantial-1y on the line 88 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings, 11 designates the control and instrument housing of a boat of the outboard type, for example, a boat having dual outboard motors. The boat is provided with suitable rudder means which is controled in a conventional manner by a'rudder control wheel 12 journaled on a horizontal axis in the housing 11 and located adjacent the forwardly facing wall 13 thereof. The top Wall 14 of the housing 111 is provided with the usual instruments '15, such as compasses, and the like.

Journaled in the respective side walls 16 and 16' of the housing 11 are respective hollow shafts 17, 17' forming a part of the combination throttle and gear control mechanisms for the respective outboard motors. The hollow shaft 17 is associated with the outboard motor on the left side of the boat, as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, and the hollow shaft 17 is associated with the outboard motor on the right side of the boat, the control mechanisms associated with these shafts being identical.

Thus, the control mechanism associated with shaft 17, presently to, be disclosed in detail, is the same as the control mechanism associated with the shaft 17.

Asshown in Figure 4, the shaft 17 is rotatably supported in a cylindrical bearing bushing 18 mounted in the side wall 16. The shaft 17 is externallyformed with an enlarged portion 19, defining an annular shoulder,

against which is seated a supporting collar member 20 rotatably receiving a cylindrical portion of shaft 17 and fastened to the wall 16 by suitable fastening means, such as screws 21.

A collar 22 is secured on the hollow shaft 17 adjacent the inside'surface of the wall 16, thus restraining the shaft against outward movement, whereby the shaft is rotatably supported in the wall 16 but cannot move longitudinally.

Secured to the inner end portion of the hollow shaft 17 is an arm 24 which is connected by a suitable link lrod 25 to the transmission mechanism associated with theoutboard motor, whereby the mechanism may be placed in any one of several selected conditions responsive to rotation of the shaft 17. Thus, the shaft has a 25 in Figure 8, or may be rotated clockwise, as viewed in Figure 3, to place the transmission gear of the outboard motor in a reverse position, as shown by the broken radial line 26 in Figure 8. Thus, a handle member 27 is secured to the external enlarged portion 19 of hollow shaft 17, the handle 27 being provided with a transversely extending handle grip portion 28 at its outer end.

As shown in Figure 3, the horizontal portion 19 of the hollow shaft is formed with an arm portion 30which extendsradi-ally and which is angled at 31 to define an offset boss 32.. The shank of the handle member 27 is axially aligned with the boss 32 and is provided with a stub shaft 33, which extends through the boss 32 and fthrougha gear housing portion 34 integrally formed .with the enlarged end portion of hollow shaft 17. A

rack pinion gear 35 is secured on the stub shaft 33, said istub shaft 33 being rigidly secured to and axially aligned with the shank portion of the handle member 27, Whereby the handle member 27 isrotatable around the com- "mon axis of .its shank portion and the stub shaft 33.

As is clearly 'shown in Figures 3, 4 and 6, the stub shaft 33 is rigidly secured in a bore provided therefor in the shank of the handle member 27 by any suitable means, such as by a transverse pin 36 extending through said shank portion and through the stub shaft 33.

The hollow shaft 17 is formed with a relatively small axial bore 37 in which is slidably mounted the throttle control rod 38. The hollow shaft 17 is formed at its outer portion with the enlarged bore 39, and integrally formed on the end portion of the throttle shaft 38 is the round rack bar 40, said rack bar comprising an enlarged cylindrical portion on the end of shaft 38 formed with the spaced circumferential annular rack teeth 41. As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the pinion gear 35 meshes with the round rack teeth 41, whereby the handle member 27 is drivingly coupled to the throttle control rod 38, and whereby rotation of the handle member around the axis defined by the stub shaft 33 moves the throttle control rod 38 longitudinally in the hollow shaft 17 1 Secured to the inner end of the throttle control rod 38 is" a clevis member 41 which is connected by a suitable linkage to the throttle valve of the associated outboard motor, whereby movement of the throttle control rod 38, as above described, controls the opening and closing of said throttle valve, and thus controls the admission of fuel mixture into the cylinders of the engine.

As will be readily apparent, the transmission of power from the engine to the propeller thereof may be controlled by rotating the handle member 27 around the axis of the hollow shaft 17, namely, by moving the handle member into its forward or reverse position, where either forward or reverse motion is desired, and may be placed in a neutral condition by moving the handle member 27 towards vertical position, shown in Figure 3. The speed of propulsion may be controlled by rotating the handle member 27 around the axis of its associated stub shaft 33, namely, in a direction to rotate the pinion gear 35 and to drive the throttle control rod 38 longitudinally to either increase or decrease the engine speed as desired.

The shaft 17' is provided with a control handle 27',

identical with the control handle 27, previously dethe housing 11, and thus being within convenient reach of the operator of the boat.

The enlarged bore 39 in the hollow shaft 17 is of suflicient length to allow the control rod 38 to be moved from its outermost position, such as the position thereof shown in Figure 4, to its innermost position similar to that shown in Figure 7, providing sufiicient range of movement of the control rod to vary the engine speed over the required range.

While a specific embodiment on improved combination transmission and throttle controlling device for an engine has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1, In combination with an engine having a throttle, a transmission and throttle-controlling device comprising a support, a hollow shaft rotatably mounted on said support and adapted to be connected to a transmission, said shaft having a forward position, a reverse position and a neutral position, an arm rigidly secured to and extending radially from said shaft, a handle member rotatably mounted in said arm and extending from the end thereof at an angle thereto and lying in the same radial plane as said arm, a throttle-operating rod slidably mounted in said shaft, means to connect said rod to the throttle of the engine to operate the throttle responsive to axial movement of the rod, and means on said handle member drivingly engaging said rod and being formed and arranged to move said rod axially responsive to to tation of said handle member around its own axis.

2. In combination with an engine having a throttle, a transmission and throttle-controlling device comprising a support, a hollow shaft rotatably mounted on said support, a first arm secured to said shaft and adapted to be connected to a transmission, said shaft having a forward position, a reverse position and a neutral position, a second arm rigidly secured to and extending radially from said shaft, a handle member spaced outwardly from said shaft and being mounted in said second arm for rotation around an axis substantially parallel to a line drawn radially from said shaft, a throttle-operating rod slidably mounted in said shaft, means to connect said rod to the throttle of the engine to operate the throttle responsive to axial movement of the rod, and means on said handle member drivingly engaging said rod and being formed and arranged to move said rod axially responsive to rotation of said handle member around said axis.

3. In combination with an engine having a throttle, a transmission and throttle-controlling device comprising a support, a hollow shaft rotatably mounted on said support, a first arm secured to said shaft and adapted to be connected to a transmission, said shaft having a forward position, a reverse position, and a neutral position, a second arm rigidly secured to and extending radially from said shaft, a handle member spaced outwardly from said shaft and being mounted in said sec- .ond arm for rotation around an axis substantially parallel to a line drawn radially from said shaft, a throttleoperating rod slidably mounted in said shaft for longitudinal movement therein, means to connect said rod to the throttle of the engineto operate the throttle responsive to longitudinal movement of the rod, spaced annuiar circumferential rack teeth on said rod defining a round rack bar, and a rack gear secured axially to said handle member, meshing with said annular rack teeth and being d-rivingly engageable therewith to move said rod axially responsive to rotation of said handle member around said axis.

References ,Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,373,183 Fitzpatrick Mar. 29, 1921 1,772,918 Sk-larek Aug. 12, 1930 2,313,768 Putt Mar. 16, 1943 2,407,322 Morrison Sept. 10, 1946 2,740,260 Blanchard Apr. 3, 1956 

